It’s just another day in the Goodman family.

Much like any classic, white-picket-fence, American family, the mother, Diana Goodman, is busy packing school lunches, husband Dan is readying himself to go to work and the kids, Natalie and Gabe, are gearing up to go to school. But this family is plagued with their own demons. Diana is not only diagnosed with bipolar disorder but also her progressively worsening mental illness has the whole family scrambling to find their “normal.”

Renton Civic Theater’s newest musical, ‘Next to Normal’ does not shy away from presenting the messy and the raw. The three-time Tony award-winning and 2010 Putlitzer Prize-winning musical not only deals with grief and mental illness, but also the ethics in modern psychiatry.

However, what makes this production of the musical unique is that two of the cast members are professionals in the field of psychology. Hisam Goueli, who plays Dan Goodman, is a psychiatrist and James Cheek, who plays the doctors, is a psychologist.

For Cheek, stepping into his character’s shoes has challenged his professional understanding of patient care.

“You want to give an honest and true representation of what’s going on and still be true to the characters as they were written because the story we are telling is [Diana’s] story,” Cheek said. “This is one of those shows that will set you a little off kilter. There’s a line I have at the end of the show that goes, ‘Is medicine magic? No, it’s not but it’s the best we got.’ It raises a lot of questions for me as a professional. I know in a way we’re helping them, but in a way are we imposing a ‘normal’ on them?”

For psychiatrist Goueli, the story hits a little closer to home. In the show, Diana undergoes electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) which is considered to be one of the more controversial medical practices in the country. Goueli administers nearly 40 ECT procedures on a weekly basis.

“For the most part, in Act 2, the sensationalism of ECT… I’m not in love with that part primarily because ECT is a very valuable treatment for patients and this sort of fosters some of the archaic ways of thinking about it,” he said. “But I understand why it has to happen for the show to be meaningful.”

Director V.J. Orduna says that he didn’t realize Goueli and Cheek were professionals until after they were cast.

“It wasn’t a planned thing,” Orduna said. “But what was interesting is that as a director it made telling the story interesting because there was a real concern coming from the cast that things be as truthful as we can make them.

“As a director, I do my own dramaturgical research,” he said. “Knowing this cast’s make-up, it forced me to learn a lot. I spent too much time reading up on bipolar disorder and PTSD, and I learned a lot. It helped me connect to the show in a meaningful way.”

The complex, dynamic and relatable characters drive the show along, effortlessly tackling unsettling subject matters masterfully. The difficult moments are balanced with light-hearted moments of innocent infatuation, cheeky humor and familial love. The story doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending, but it hints at a hopeful tomorrow.

“Because these issues don’t have easy answers, what I love is that they don’t give you a happy ending that says, ‘And everybody’s fixed!’ But we end in a hopeful place. Everybody is looking forward. That was why I was first drawn to this show,” said Orduna. “I like happy endings. I like my ‘Shipoopi’. I like my Hairsprays. But this musical is very real. The issues are very real. But it ends in a very hopeful way. That’s why it’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Although they’re very careful not to say, ‘Now everything is better.’ Hence the title.

“One of the characters has this great line: ‘I don’t need a life that’s normal. Something next to normal would be OK,” Orduna continued. “I think that’s an amazing affirmation because whose life is normal? The gift to the audience is hope.”

“Next to Normal” opens June 10 and will run till June 25 at Renton Civic Theater, 507 S. Third St. Thursday shows are at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m.; and Sunday shows are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors.